Journal of Northwest Forestry University, Volume. 40, Issue 4, 275(2025)
Effect of Moisture Content on the Compression Energy Absorption Properties of Balsa Wood
In order to investigate the effect of moisture on the energy-absorbing properties of wood the compressive mechanical response and energy-absorbing properties of balsa wood with different moisture contents under different compression directions were investigated by quasi-static compression tests and the corresponding energy absorption diagrams were established The results were as follows 1 The compression stress-strain curves and transverse compressive failure morphology were unaffected by moisture content while the longitudinal compressive failure morphology shifted from brittle fracture damage to shear and delamination splitting damage with increasing moisture content Water molecules played a role in plasticizing and stress dispersion 2 The compression properties of balsa wood along the grain were more sensitive to moisture change than those perpendicular to the grain As moisture content increased the crushing strength and plateau stress decreased nonlinearly under axial compression R2>0 90 and they decreased linearly under transverse compression R2>0 93 Compared with the specimen with 1 92% moisture content both the crushing strength and plateau stress of the specimen with 26 89% moisture content decreased by more than 44% the σmax σmin ratio of longitudinal compression plateau decreased from 3 78 to 1 58 while the transverse ratio remained basically unchanged Too high or too low moisture content is not conducive to the steady-state damage of wood 3 The lower the moisture content the higher the energy-absorbing capacity of balsa wood As the moisture content decreased the shoulder point shifted to the direction of high stress and high energy absorption value and the cushioning performance increased significantly The moisture content of 14 09% is the turning point of the longitudinal energy absorption properties 4 The mathematical models between the compression energy absorption properties and the moisture content of balsa wood with different grains combined with the energy absorption diagram can guide the moisture content control and grain configuration of shock-absorbing wood so as to ensure its application safety
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XU Shiyu, LÜ, KONG Jing, YANG Zhiyi, QI Bin. Effect of Moisture Content on the Compression Energy Absorption Properties of Balsa Wood[J]. Journal of Northwest Forestry University, 2025, 40(4): 275
Received: May. 31, 2024
Accepted: Sep. 12, 2025
Published Online: Sep. 12, 2025
The Author Email: LÜ (lwh_lily@163.com)